Author: Sandra Pate

A tree fell on a Gwinnett County apartment building Friday morning as North Georgia woke up to heavy rain and severe thunderstorms. Authorities responded just after 5 a.m. to a report of a tree down on a building at the Columns at Peachtree Corners apartments in the 900 block of Concepts 21 Drive near Peachtree Corners, Gwinnett fire spokesman Capt. Tommy Rutledge said in a news release. Crews found a large pine tree that snapped in half and fell on part of the building and in the parking lot. Limbs from the tree penetrated the roof and wall of one apartment unit, he said. “Occupants were inside the apartment at the time the tree fell,” Rutledge said. “The tree penetrated the roof over the bedroom and part of the wall in the apartment unit directly below.” One person, an adult, was evaluated and released at the scene by paramedics for…

Written by Colin Wood After announcing a new competition earlier this year designed to bring university and private sector resources together with local government to solve civic challenges, Georgia Institute of Technology has announced four winning projects this week centered around improving transportation, housing, and public safety. The Georgia Smart Communities Challenge, or shortened as Georgia Smart, was announced in February as a way for communities to address common challenges. The four winning communities announced Tuesday — Albany, Chamblee, Chatham County and Gwinnett County — give through their project proposals an idea of what organizers had in mind when they created the challenge as they prepare their one-year research projects. The city of Albany is partnering with other local governments to develop an automated housing registry to replace the city’s outdated and inefficient housing inventory that contains more than 33,000 entries. Through a project called the Albany Housing Data Analytics…

James Brey Gwinnett County has been named one of Georgia’s five healthiest counties again, but its neighbor to the west, Forsyth County, has once again taken the title of being the healthiest place in the state. While Forsyth remains at the top, the second through fifth healthiest counties — Oconee, Cherokee, Fayette and Gwinnett — are also the same as last year’s in the newly released 2019 County Health Rankings. All five counties are suburban and in the northern half of the state. The annual County Health Rankings, released Tuesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, consider factors other than medical care, such as education, transportation, housing and poverty, that influence how long and how well people live. It’s the seventh straight year that Forsyth, northeast of Atlanta, has topped the rankings in the state. The five Georgia counties in the poorest…

Residential developers are planning 266 new townhomes and 177 single-family homes in Gwinnett County. In the largest of the new proposals, The Providence Group of Georgia LLC is proposing a 272-home traditional neighborhood development in Suwanee. The community would be developed on nearly 50 acres in the 3200 block of Suwanee Creek Road, southwest of the intersection of McGinnis Ferry Road and Interstate 85. It would include both 175 upscale townhomes and 97 single-family homes ranging from 1,800 square feet to 4,000 square feet, according to plans filed with the county. Enlarge Two of the possible home designs in The Providence Group of Georgia’s proposed 272-unit residential community on Suwanee Creek Road in Suwanee, Ga. "Included in this gated community will be a neighborhood swimming pool, open green spaces and pocket parks," the developer says. Providence has developed communities all over metro Atlanta, including Aberly Township and Centennial in North…

A major event happening Monday is Gwinnett County’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony, which will take place at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center auditorium at 1 p.m. The memorial lists the names of Gwinnett residents who have died in combat in wars and military conflicts dating back to the War of 1812, as well as county employees who died in the line of duty and public safety officers who died while working for either Gwinnett or one of its cities. Navy Capt. Baron V. Reinhold will delivery the keynote address during the ceremony. Reinhold is the commanding officer and professor of Navy Science for the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Morehouse College and Georgia Tech. Residents who cannot attend the ceremony in person will be able to watch it on the TV Gwinnett channel, as well as the TV Gwinnett Live website, at 8 p.m. Monday. It will also…

Oconee State Bank recently announced it hired, from left, Josh Osborne, Deborah Worley and Mike Fulton to work in its new Gwinnett County office. (Special Photo) Oconee State Bank announced this week that it has hired a team of lenders to build its presence in Gwinnett County, which it sees as a fast-growing market. Mike Fulton, Josh Osborne and Deborah Worley will work out of the bank’s new office in the Sugarloaf Parkway area near Duluth. Fulton and Osborne will be the Gwinnett County market leaders while Worley will be a commercial loan specialist. “At Oconee State, we are building around top people and exceptional talent, and the opportunity to have Mike, Josh and Deborah join us was too good to pass up,” Oconee State Bank President and CEO Neil Stevens said in a statement. “Gwinnett County is a community where we already have customers, is close to our geographic…

On a brisk afternoon last January, Kaiser Permanente’s plan to bring 800 jobs to Gwinnett County moved closer to reality with the opening of its new facility at Gwinnett Place. Nearly 300 people have already been hired to work in Gwinnett, but company officials expect the national member services facility will be fully staffed by 2020. Kaiser Permanente’s presence within the boundaries of the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District highlights the CID’s economic impact within Gwinnett County. While the CID only comprises 1% of the county’s land area, it is responsible for $9.5B in annual economic revenue. This economic success, combined with a growing inventory of Class-A offices and an increase in well-educated millennials, has caused the CID to become a hot spot for companies looking to capitalize on Gwinnett Place’s demographics and suburban location near Atlanta. The Gwinnett Place Area is among Gwinnett County’s densest employment centers, with an…

Gwinnett County is holding elections in both English and Spanish as early voting for Georgia’s May 22 primary elections begins across the state. WABE Radio reports Gwinnett is Georgia’s only county determined by the U.S. Census Bureau to meet the requirement under the Voting Rights Act to provide election materials in both languages. The requirement was triggered in 2016 because more than 5 percent of Gwinnett’s voting population speaks Spanish as a first or only language. Gwinnett County Elections Director Lynn Ledford says all signs, election materials and ballots will be available in both languages. Ledford estimates the county spent about $1 million translating documents and hiring bilingual workers. She says all Gwinnett voters will save time since Spanish-speaking residents will be able to move through the polls faster. Help us deliver journalism that makes a difference in our community. Our journalism takes a lot of time, effort, and hard…

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – The Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services would like to remind residents that a ban on outdoor open burning is in place annually from May 1 through September 30. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) imposes a ban on outdoor open burning to comply with Federal Clean Air Regulations. During the summer months in Georgia, the ozone in the air we breathe can reach unhealthy levels. The EPD has identified outdoor open burning as a significant contributor of the pollutants that form ozone. Consequently, outdoor open burning in metro Atlanta and larger counties is restricted during the warm-weather season. The safe use of residential grills for outdoor cooking is still allowed and does not require a permit. As always, people should exercise extreme caution when using residential grills or campfires. The use of grills on the balcony of apartment buildings is prohibited year-round under the…

NORCROSS, GA – Gwinnett County Police responded to a request for a welfare check at an apartment in the 3300 block of Chelsea Park Lane in Norcross Sunday evening and found the bodies of two people, later identified as 61-year-old Nicola Sramek and her son, 29-year-old James Sramek. Family members had contacted police last Sunday, saying they had not been able to contact their relatives. When officers arrived, they found the victims inside the apartment. Officers said the deaths were treated as suspicious, and homicide detectives responded. According to Gwinnett County Police Corporal Deon Washington, the manner and cause of death will be determined by the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner, as will the approximate length of time the victims were inside the apartment. Neighbors are being urged to come forward with any information related to suspicious activity or sounds that may have come from the apartment over the past week….